Time For Your Website Checkup

With the ever changing algorithms and updates of search engines like Google,it is imperative to make sure that your website is performing well.Therefore,we recommend that you must have a regular checkup of your website and at the same time we understand that it is sometimes not affordable for small companies to hire web designers on regular basis.So we are here to share some of the best tools through which you can check the performance status of your website yourself.

Checkup #1 Website Speed 

A very important checkup for your website in order to make sure that all the users are able to access your website easily and quickly.In the modern age of 3G & 4G, users have become impatient and expect every webpage to be downloaded in less than few seconds.Studies show that an average web user would wait for up to 6 seconds and if the website is not downloaded within this timeframe,they tend to quit the website immediately.Therefore you must make sure that your web designer has used optimized codes for CSS,JavaScript & images.You don't need to worry if you are not technical because you can check the website speed on your own without help of any technical staff.You may simply open the web based tool like pingdom and test your website speed.If your website takes more than 6 seconds to download,you may consider this as an alert to get the speed issue fixed.

Takeaway #1: Web based tool to check website speed-http://tools.pingdom.com

Checkup #2 Malicious Codes 

Malicious codes are set of scripts that is intended to cause security breaches or damage to a system.Broadly speaking,a malicious code could be in the form of viruses,worms,Malicious acvtives or Trozan horses.A malicious code can do anything on your website like writing some messages,deleting some of the files,generating sound on the website and sometimes stopping some or all of the applications running on your website.If any website is affected with the malicious codes,it may show an error message like "This site may harm your computer".So,before its too late,you must make sure that you have a regular checkup of your website for harmful malicious codes.

Takeaway #2: Web based tool to check malicous codes on website-http://www.urlvoid.com

Checkup #3 Broken Links 

Any link which shows up a dead page or 404 (page not found) error, is considered as a broken link.There could be several reasons for a broken link however the most common reason of a broken link is the missing page to which the link is connected.A broken link would affect not only users experience badly but it also affects the search engine rankings of your website.Therefore you must make sure to check your website regulary for broken links.There are many free tools available out there for the web designers to test a website for broken links.One of the most popular and effective tools is XENU.

Takeaway #3: Web based tool to check broken links-http://xenus-link-sleuth.en.softonic.com/

Checkup #4 Spelling & Grammar Mistakes 

Studies show that a website may lose business due to bad English or Grammar mistakes in the content(especailly in Europe & America).So whenever you add new pages/blogs on your website, you must make sure that you check the language very carefully.There are few tools available to help you to check the spelling and grammar mistakes on your webpages.

Takeaway #4: Tool to check spelling & grammar mistakes on website-http://spellcheckplus.com

Checkup #5 Browser 

Compatibiltiy With an endless flow of updated versions of old browsers and upcoming new browsers,every web designer must make sure to build a website which is cross browser compatible.It doesn't end with the designers' confirmation because you can also keep checking your website for different browsers by using several tools available for you to check.If your website doesn't support any of the major browsers,then you must be losing lots of visitors and sales as well.So,in order to avoid these losses,you must make sure to ask your web design company to run through a test for your website for browser compatibility.

Takeaway #5: Tool to check browser compatibility of website-http://crossbrowsertesting.com   We really hope that you enjoyed reading this blog and you will definitely care about your website when it comes to its regular checkup.

How to handle the out of stock situation in eCommerce websites

For the businesses who are into online products selling through their eCommerce websites,it becomes challenging when any product is out of stock and there is still huge demand for it.The customers who come to the website and want to purchase their favorite product but due to the zero availability in the current stock for that product,they will quit the website and would prefer to search for other vendors.But this situation is not healthy for eCommerce businesses because the gone customers can't be forced to come back to the website when the stock is available again.

Here comes the need of backorder feature for eCommerce websites.Through the backorder feaure,the customers are still able to purchase the products or join the waiting list even if the quantity of their desired product has arrived to zero.Broadly speaking,there are two ways to handle backorder products on eCommerce websites and both have different process.Let's learn how and when we can implement backorder feature on our eCommerce websites to retain our existing customers and prospective customers.

Option #1: Backorder Feature with Buying Option 

The retail companies can choose the allow customers to purchase the products which are out of stock.Through this feature, the customers are still able to pay for the product and they are generally notified through email about the availability and shipping status of the product.

Option #2: Backorder Feature with Joining List Option

In this option,the customers don't require to pay for the products which are out of stock.Instead,they join the waiting list for that product and whenever the product is available in the stock,those subscribed users will be notified about the product availability through emails.

We suggest that every eCommerce based retail company must use backorder feature on their website in order to retain their customers.The growing popularity of this feature has made it very easy for every web design company to implement it without any hassle because the backorder modules are available free of cost.

Handy Tips for Web Design

Today, people spend a lot of time online browsing through various websites. When you start your own website, you have to make sure that you are able to attract at least a good percentage of this audience. If you are planning to use the website for business needs, you need to pay even more attention. A leap in the right direction might win you a fortune but a wrong step might push you into a deep grave from where moving out might be a hard row to hoe. Here are 9 tips that would come handy while designing a website.

Easy-to-remember URL 

The URL of your website should be impressive and easy-to-remember. Long URLs with complicated spellings are tough to remember. Choosing a name that is related to the contents of the website or something that entices the web users would be ideal.

Easy navigation 

People visiting your website should not find it hard to toggle between sections on the pages. The different sections of the website should be arranged in a prompt manner with easy to use tabs. If the users find it hard to shift between pages on the website, they might close the page and leave. Winning back an unhappy visitor wouldn’t be an easy task.

Enhanced visibility

When you put up a website on the internet, your website is just one among millions of others. You need to make sure that the name of your website is listed on the search results of major search engines. If the visibility of your website is not enhanced, you will find it hard to promote your website. You can seek the aid of companies handling Search Engine Optimization to get this part taken care of.

Browser compatibility 

When you discuss about your requirements with a web design company, you need to talk to them regarding the compatibility of the website with all sorts of browsers available. Not all users would be using the same type of browser and hence you need to design a website that works well with all possible browsers.

Updated content 

The content of your website should always be up-to-date. You need to keep adding meaningful information periodically in order to win the attention of major search engines and also the regular audience.

Consistent Layout 

The web designer you choose should help you with a consistent layout for the website. You can also provide ideas to the designers and ask them to bring in necessary improvements from time to time related to the overall layout.

Meaningful Content 

You should not try to fill the pages of your website with junk content or fillers. Even if you have very little info to portray on the website but wants to keep it filled, do not include content that is totally unnecessary. However little the content you have, include it in the best manner with no room for baloney.

Easy downloads 

The pages of the website should load easily. People live in a very fast paced world today and no one is patient enough to see the page loading sign displayed on their screens. Hence, try to include minimum amounts of graphics and other elements in your home page unless it is absolutely necessary.

Security Assurance

You might have to accept payments and personal information of your business prospects through your website. You need to provide the inclusion of encrypted pages using Secure Socket Layer in order to accept sensitive customer centric information. Secure browsing facilities is vital in order to attract a large number of users to your website. Hence, you need to mention the need for the same when you assign the task to a web design agency.

Use all these tips while designing your website, if you want it to be good enough to sail through the busy world of internet!